Douglas Osler - Chairman

Douglas was HM Senior Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland. He has undertaken consultancy work for the Scottish Justice Department, reviewing the Parole Board and the Scottish Court Service and in Northern Ireland as chair of a Statutory Inquiry into child abuse and as chairman of the Commissioners appointed to manage the South Eastern Education & Library Board. Prior to becoming Royal Blind’s Chairman, he chaired both the Education Committee and Marketing & Fundraising Committee.

David Dunn - Vice-Chairman

David is a Chartered Accountant and prior to retiring was Chief Accountant & Company Secretary of The Scottish Life Assurance Company.

James Finlay

Jim is a retired Scottish Life Assurance senior executive and past president of the Insurance society of Edinburgh. He is a dedicated grandfather, golfer and Hearts fanatic - not necessarily in that order.

Margery Browning

Qualified as a secondary teacher and chartered educational psychologist, Margery's career included teaching, working in a local authority psychological service and teacher education before joining HM Inspectorate of Education as a specialist in the education of children and young people requiring additional support for learning. Since retiring from HMIe, she works as an educational consultant. She was awarded an OBE in 2006.

Dr Brian Fleck

Brian is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, and the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh. He is Lead Clinician for all surgical services at the sick children’s hospital in Edinburgh. He is a member of the ophthalmology research committee, and has previously been chairman of the Ophthalmology Board of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Brian has been involved in various capacities with clinical services to the Royal Blind School and Braeside House for 20 years, and is very much interested in the welfare of students and residents.

Robert Hodge

Bob is a Chartered Accountant. He provides accounting and taxation services to a small group of clients and is a Trustee of the pension scheme of his former employers. Bob was a senior official of a professional association of teachers with responsibility for finance and office management as well as administration of the benevolent fund and the provision of members' services. At the same time, he held posts as a Director and Company Secretary of a financial services company, as a member of the UK Working Party on Teachers' Superannuation and as a representative on the Trade Union Committee of a Bank.

Georgina R lnnes

Georgie trained at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and worked there as a Ward Sister and Clinical Nurse Manager in the Surgical Hospital for many years until taking up post as a Nurse Manager in a private Edinburgh Nursing Home. She has a diploma in Nursing Administration and a qualification in Personnel Management. Georgie is married to Donald and they have three grown up sons and six grandchildren who are all very much part of her life, and who she enjoys enormously!

Iain C Lumsden

Iain is an actuary who spent most of his career with Standard Life. He was responsible for that company's actuarial and accounting functions for 15 years before becoming Group Chief Executive, a position from which he retired in 2004. He is married with two grown-up children and is a trustee of one other charity.

Margaret M Sibbald

Margaret qualified as a Registered General Nurse from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (E.R.I.) in 1962 and as a Midwife in 1963 from Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion. From 1986 to 1992 she was Senior Nurse covering Surgical Intensive Care Units in the E.R.I. and was appointed Service Manager Cardio Thoracic Surgery in 1992 until her retirement in 2000. Margaret lives in Midlothian with her husband where they have been for almost 40 years. Their son and daughter have long since left the nest, but their Newfoundland dog keeps them very active.

William A Stirling

Bill was a pupil of the Royal Blind School. During this time he became involved in the Scout Troop, then based at the school, and continued in scouting until retiring as Group Scout Leader for Liberton. On leaving school he worked in Sheltered Workshops for 10 years and was a member of the National League for the Blind serving on the Work Committee. Bill worked with the Edinburgh Society dealing with people from cradle to grave including people who were both deaf and blind. He retired as Senior Social Worker covering all Lothian and the Borders. On his retirement, Bill continued to be involved with the blind at different levels, e.g. running a social club for the housebound elderly blind, taking the club annually on holiday.

Gordon Banks - Edinburgh Merchant Company

Gordon is a retired Insurance Broker who now chairs the Merchant Company Charities Committee and is a Director of the Edinburgh City Youth Cafe.

James Cook - Scottish Trade Union Congress

Jimmy represents STUC on the Board. He has been a member of Board since 1977. He is a former President of the Scottish National Federation for Welfare of the Blind and is currently Chairman of RNIB Scotland. Jimmy is currently a member of the National League of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind. He is also a member of Scottish Division’s “Equities Forum” of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers.

Cllr Conor Snowden - City of Edinburgh Council

Conor was elected to the City of Edinburgh Council in 2007 for the Liberton/Gilmerton ward and previously worked for the MSP for Edinburgh South, Mike Pringle. He has a strong interest in the south side of the City, where he has lived for 11 years, an area which covers many of the Royal Blind's locations. He came to Edinburgh to do postgraduate science work and now works as a senior science advisor for British Council Scotland.

Janis Sugden - University of Edinburgh

Janis is a Chartered Teacher with over thirty years experience of working in education. Initially involved in the education of mainstream primary children, she has also worked in a special school for children with moderate learning difficulties. For the last twenty years Janis has worked as a peripatetic teacher of visually impaired children, from birth to school leaving age, in a variety of settings including the home. Currently, she is the course director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Additional Support for Learning (Visual Impairment) in The School of Education, Moray House at The University of Edinburgh and was recently appointed Coordinator of the Scottish Sensory Centre.

Alex Scott - Scottish Council of the National League of the Blind and Disabled

After losing his sight in 1977, Alex joined the Blindcraft workshops in Edinburgh. He then became an activist with the National League of the Blind and Disabled (NLBD) and co-ordinated the successful campaign for a Concessionary Travel Scheme in Scotland. He later received an MBE in recognition of this work. Alex has represented NLBD on a number of Committees and served as an independent director on the Board of VISES (Visually Impaired Services in East Scotland) until its merger with RNIB in 2003, when he became a member of the Scottish Assembly. Alex serves on the Liberton area Community Council. He was further recognised for his work when he received a Hero in the Community Award from Nigel Griffiths MP. Alex is still actively campaigning on accessible travel issues.